Underwear bomber lawyer suspended for six months

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2012, file photo attorney Anthony Chambers, who represented underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man who tried blowing up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day 2009, is seen outside federal court in Detroit. Chambers began a 6-month suspension Monday, April 22, 2013, after the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission accused Anthony Chambers of mishandling approximately $40,000 in clients' money and committing other violations of professional conduct, none of which are related to his work for Abdulmutallab. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

DETROIT (AP) — A well-known attorney who assisted the Detroit underwear bomber in court has been suspended from practicing law for six months after being accused of mishandling clients’ money to shore up his personal finances.

The case revealed that Anthony Chambers suffers from alcoholism and depression. He testified that he drank as much as a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey a day during the peak of his problems.

The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission accused Chambers of mishandling approximately $40,000 and committing other violations of professional conduct.

The agency wanted his license revoked, but a panel of the Attorney Discipline Board settled on a 180-day suspension, which began Monday.

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“The public has been put on notice that (Chambers) is currently in an impaired and incapacitated state by virtue of depression and alcohol addiction,” the panel said.

Chambers, who had asked for probation, said he might appeal the punishment.

“I’m considering all my options,” he told The Associated Press in a brief interview Tuesday. “We move forward with the next step.”

He said his drinking “absolutely” didn’t affect his work for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the African who is serving a life sentence for trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009.

“Not him or anyone else. I did everything I could for every client,” Chambers said.

Abdulmutallab insisted on acting as his own lawyer, so Chambers was assigned as his stand-by counsel. He aggressively challenged some evidence in the case and disagreed with Abdulmutallab’s decision to plead guilty on the second day of trial in 2011.

The misconduct case centered on Chambers’ work in two other matters. The Grievance Commission said he accepted $27,500 to provide legal services to a man in 2010 but never performed any work or refunded the money. The allegations were similar in another case involving $10,000. Other attorneys eventually stepped in.

Chambers’ lawyer, Kathy Henry, told the Attorney Discipline Board in December that he was willing to reimburse money.

“His ability to practice law competently was materially impaired by mental disability and alcohol addiction. ... Mr. Chambers functions in court. However, he does not function so good outside the court,” Henry said, citing the testimony of doctors.

Chambers traced his excessive drinking to 2005 when a law partner in Philadelphia suddenly died of a heart attack. He had personal challenges inside his family as well.

“I’m remorseful for all of it, for everything,” Chambers testified. “The situation with the alcohol, the situation with the clients, all of it. Shouldn’t be.”

Chambers has been a lawyer for nearly 30 years. He has handled many high-profile cases, including death penalty cases.

He has been representing Anthony Bennett, who is charged with killing a 4-year-old boy on a mid-Michigan Indian reservation. Chambers informed the judge about the suspension Monday. The next hearing in Bennett’s case is May 9.